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Eviction news

Nov 18
0

Eviction looms for victims of traditional leader’s land scam

By | Eviction news, Evictions

Reprinted from GroundUp, by Warren Mabona – 2024-11-14

  • Families who were illegally sold plots on municipal land in Mpumalanga by a traditional leader will soon be forced to vacate the properties.
  • The Middelburg High Court has ruled in favour of the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality, dismissing the traditional leader’s attempt to appeal an eviction order.
  • Judas Mahlangu, leader of the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Traditional Authority, has been selling off stands on municipal-owned land for at least R2,500 each since 2018.

The Middelburg High Court has ruled in favour of the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, ordering a group of people and the traditional leader who illegally sold them plots on municipal land to vacate properties.

The group have been ordered to leave the land by 31 October.

But many of the people still living in Magadangana Village say they have nowhere else to go. They say they spent what little money they had, or even took out loans, to build their homes there.

Judas Mahlangu, leader of the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Traditional Authority, has been selling off stands on the municipal land since 2018 for at least R2,500 each.

The battle between the municipality and Mahlangu has been ongoing for six years.

The area, officially known as the Farm Vlaklaagte, has no running water, electricity or road infrastructure. The people who bought stands from Mahlangu will be forced to leave as soon as the eviction order has been handed over to the sheriff of the court to execute, the municipality confirmed. This is after three failed legal attempts by Mahlangu to claim that he had a right to sell off the municipal land.

The Thembisile Hani municipality first found out in June 2019 that stands were being sold on its land. The land has been earmarked for the development of government housing.

The municipality went to court, and in February 2022 the Middleburg High Court interdicted Mahlangu and another man, Johannes Jiyane, from allocating stands. By then 175 sites had been “allocated”. According to some residents, Jiyane works with Mahlangu at the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Tribal Authority.

The municipality returned to court in January 2024, and Judge Mpopelele Bruce Langa ordered Mahlangu, Jiyane and those living on the land to leave by the end of April.

Mahlangu then filed an application to appeal against this ruling. On 23 August Judge Langa dismissed the appeal with costs. The judge said that leave to appeal should only be granted if the court is of the opinion that the appeal would have reasonable prospects of success or is arguable.

In rejecting the appeal, Judge Langa said that, among other things, Mahlangu had failed to prove his authority to bring the appeal on behalf of all of the people occupying the municipal land. “The fact that he may be the traditional leader in the area, did not give him the authority to act on behalf of the ‘community’ and institute legal proceedings without the resolution or consent by the community for him to do so,” he said.

Langa added that the court had made a factual finding that the municipality was the rightful owner and that there was not sufficient evidence that families had been on the land for more than six months before the initial litigation.

Nowhere to go

There are currently about 200 informal structures and brick homes on the land and a few larger brick and mortar houses are still being built.

Many of the residents GroundUp spoke to last week say they now live in fear daily of their imminent eviction.

Jabulani Ngema told GroundUp that he worries that he will be homeless for Christmas. He said he bought a stand from Mahlangu for R2,500 in 2021 and spent R5,000 on building material and furniture to construct his two-room shack.

“I am worried because I don’t know if the municipality will move us to another land.. I fear that the municipality will demolish my home and damage my building material when evicting us,” said Ngema. “Christmas is coming. I don’t want to be homeless.”

Ngema’s shack is on the outskirts of the site near a dam. He said moving out of the area would be a huge setback for him because he wants to start a vegetable garden and sell the produce to make a living.

Another resident owns a seven-roomed house on the site. He said he had spent more than R120,000 on his house so far. “I live with my wife and three children in this home and they love our house. If the municipality evicts and relocates us to another land, it will still be a big loss for me because I will have to spend more money building another house there.”

GroundUp sent questions to the spokesperson for Thembisile Hani Municipality, Simphiwe Mokako on 7 November 2024. Mokako said the court order had ordered the municipality to find alternative land, and “We have indicated that the municipality will abide by the court order.”

“The matter of the evictions is in the hands of the Sheriff.”

Mahlangu said he would not answer our questions before hanging up on us.

GroundUp also sent questions by email on 11 November to the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Traditional Authority but there was no response by the time of publication.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading:

Oct 31
0

Castle of Good Hope eviction ‘is happening soon’, says Cape Town mayor

By | Eviction news, Evictions

Reprinted from News24, by Marvin Charles – 2024-10-30

  • Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced the imminent eviction of homeless people living outside the Castle of Good Hope during a council meeting on Wednesday.
  • The eviction date was initially set for 17 October, but more than ten days have passed since then.
  • The Department of Public Works obtained an eviction order in the Western Cape High Court in September.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the eviction of a group of homeless people living outside the Castle of Good Hope in the CBD is imminent.

More than 10 days have passed since the eviction date, which was set for 17 October.

Responding to questions during a full council sitting on Wednesday, Hill-Lewis said: “Once Public Works obtained the eviction order, with the City supporting the eviction, it is carried out by the sheriff of the court.

“The date has been set for the eviction. Obviously it is confidential, but it is happening soon.”

Hill-Lewis said the eviction of the group of homeless people who have been staying outside the Castle of Good Hope would be an “important” milestone.

“That has been the site of really terrible dereliction and urban decay for the last four or five years, and it’s been a very difficult problem to solve,” he added.

“It is a source of great regret for me that it has taken this long.”

The mayor’s announcement comes after a fire broke out at the Castle on Wednesday morning, but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

According to spokesperson for the City’s Fire and Rescue Service, Jermaine Carelse, the City’s firefighters responded to a call on Wednesday morning of structures alight in the vicinity of the Castle of Good Hope.

Three structures were destroyed, and five people were displaced.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

In September, the Western Cape High Court ordered that the group vacate the property by 17 October, following an eviction application from the national Department of Public Works.

According to the order, the City of Cape Town must provide alternative accommodation for the homeless people in safe spaces.

Hill-Lewis said there had been zero cooperation from two former public works ministers on the issue.

“Most residents usually accept the offer of alternative accommodation at the last minute when they are being evicted. It’s a sad thing because it could save us months in court if they accept the offer,” he said.

According to the City, the 358-year-old castle, which is a national heritage site, has seen a significant decline in visitors in recent times.

Living in makeshift tents, the homeless people have been using the moat that surrounds the castle for ablution purposes and dumping their waste.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading:

Oct 28
0

Opera singer wins court battle with old-age home

By | Eviction news

Reprinted from iol.co.za, by Mervyn Naidoo – 2024-10-27

The High Court application brought by the heads of a Durban retirement village to evict a long-time resident from their facility was dismissed with costs last week.

The Amanzimtoti Welfare Organisation For the Aged moved to terminate Diana Patricia Gregson’s lifetime right and occupation of a unit and use of a garage at the Poinsettia Park Retirement Centre.

AWOFTA alleged that Gregson, a professional opera singer, who also had UK citizenship, had not occupied her unit since December 2019, which exceeded their permitted absence period.

They stated that various clauses in the agreement and house rules supported their termination bid.

AWOFTA contends that her prolonged absence constituted a breach of the life rights.

Their legal representatives served a letter threatening to terminate her life right in January 2022.

Gregson’s attorney Shaheen Seedat, who is on Legal Aid South Africa’s ‘s panel as a judicare practitioner, eventually filed her notice to contest the AWOFA’s application in April 2023.

The 81-year-old Gregson was granted condonation for the late filing (11 days) of her response.

Gregson said she suffered severe gallbladder attacks since December 2022 which led to her hospitalisation in the UK April 2023 and was only able to consult Seedat in May.

She said the AWOFTA’s application contained numerous false claims and deviations from the truth.

Gregson said she was the registered owner of the unit at retirement village .

During the AWOFTA’s AGM held July 1985, her late mother Gladys Gregson, who attended, posed a question about Gregson’s and her intended long term absences from Poinsettia Park.

Gregson said, according to the minutes of the said meeting, all cottages were sold without Sectional Title and no cottages were for renting and there were no restrictions on leave of absence for residents of cottages bought.

“It was for that reason that my late mother purchased the said property.

“Both my mother, my late sister and I had dual citizenship in South Africa and the UK.

“I was an opera singer and performed in various countries throughout the world previously, and never had any issues with long absences from Poinsettia Park,” read an extract from Gregson’s affidavit.

Accordingly, Gregson’s mother signed a 99-year lease for the right to the exclusive use and occupation of the unit, which was concluded in 1986.

She was substituted as the owner of the unit and covered the carport during 1995 and the occupier of the property since 1996.

Gregson has had previous legal run-ins with the body corporate regarding her rights and occupation of the unit, which necessitated her approaching the same court in 2018, where a consent order was granted in her favour.

The body corporate undertook not to harass Gregson and allow her peaceful and undisturbed occupation of the unit.

Gregson also challenged the body corporate over levy charges due by her, which was handled by the Durban Magistrates Court.

In the 2018 ruling, the court also ordered that in respect of the levies issue, the body corporate give a full breakdown of her levy account, look into excessive charges, and submit their formula for levy calculation, all of which must be dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court.

Having travelled to the UK in December 2019, Gregson informed the body corporate about her departure and had no idea that Covid-19 would emerge.

Lockdown restrictions in the UK made travelling back impossible.

Her return home was further complicated by her inability to take the Covid 19 vaccine because of significant allergies to various pharmaceuticals.

The restrictions regarding non vaccine passport travel were only relaxed in late 2022, but Gregson was already beset by other health problems by then.

She was also threatened with eviction in 2021, but the body corporate were not able to follow through without a court order.

Gregson maintained that she had legal possession of the property for over 27 years and her mother’s lifelong lease with the body corporate was still valid, in her name, and must be honoured.

She said she cannot be forced to accept the body corporates new rules to her detriment, which were not contained in her original contract.

In last week’s sitting the court said the crux of this matter lay with the interpretation of the memorandum of agreement concluded by AWOFTA and Gregson’s mother, and the minutes of July 1985 AGM, and the house rules of the retirement centre.

The court found that there were no agreement that directly refers to AWOFTA and Gregson.

However, her mother entered into an agreement with AWOFTA and Gregson succeeded her, and noted that the organisation agreed to being bound by the original agreement, including its flaws.

It was pointed out that the “life rights” agreement did not directly address absences due to certain health conditions.

AWOFTA has not established a clear right to the relief sought, the court ruled.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading: